Reflections
by Faulty Paragon
Summary: Reno and Rufus talk about the Remnants, of Shinra, and of what the Turks mean to the President. The words unspoken are what makes the world turn. RufusxReno, post AC.


A/N: The things you think of during an 8AM genetics lecture. Set post-AC in Healin. Enjoy, and please RxR!

* * *

**Reflections**

"_A good son would have known."_

"Why'd ya do that, boss?"

The question lingers in the air, casual and offhanded as the speaker flicks long crimson bangs out of his eyes, hands running along the length of the menacing, polished electromagnetic rod strapped to his waist, just barely visible from underneath the too-big, rumpled navy suit jacket. His pale, green-blue eyes are bored, lips pulled back into a lazy smirk; to all other audiences, he remains completely relaxed.

Rufus knows better.

"He tried my patience," the refined man responds, turning slightly to examine the view from the large windows of Healin Lodge. The scenery is beautiful, but his thoughts are miles away from the idyllic sight. His startlingly clear, direct gaze shows no kind of warmth towards his employee's comments. "I don't appreciate fools."

Reno knows better.

"It's good Tseng and 'Laney figured it out," he drawls, leaning onto the door, inspecting short, bitten-down fingernails and flicking out the dirt from underneath.

Rufus knows – the Turk was worried about him.

He doesn't like associating emotions felt in relation to the Remnants – they were a mistake his father had made, which he himself vows to never repeat. Instead, he replies aloofly, "Well, of all those remaining, it is only natural that the best Turks would be there to ensure the safety of the President, is it not?"

Reno knows Rufus is sorry.

Reno leans against the door, goggles resting on the steel frame. The other Turks are in Edge at that moment, doing damage control. Reno is skipping out on it.

Giving up pretenses, he strides over to the window – for anyone else, maybe he could swagger, but one does not simply _saunter_ to Rufus Shinra after all – and pauses, mouth gaping for a moment before a small noncommittal noise escapes his lips. "When you fell, yo…"

The fall off the building during the summoning of Bahamut Sin, the moment where Reno and Rude had looked up and seen the President tumble off the precipice with Kadaj by his side-

Rufus knows.

No one else is around, he thinks, and so the blond turns and reaches his hand to cup the other's cheek in a rare display of affections. He knows Reno, knows his Turks – they view Rufus as a way of life, like a God in a godforsaken land. Turks would always follow orders, whether they be from this imposing, white-suited man, to being from a crippled shell of a creature, rotting way into pus and black decay due to the stigma, confined like an invalid to a wheelchair. The Turks – _his _Turks – would continue treating him with respect, reverence, trust, no matter what.

And Reno was the one who had done the most for him, during the stigma. It had been unexpected for the both of them, but while the Director took care of finding various surgeons and the best medical practitioners, Reno had been by his side. Not to hold his hand and tell him that he would get through it – Reno wasn't a doctor, _yo_ – but simply to _be _there. No one else was, after the end of Shinra. After Meteorfall.

Reno would do anything for him, stay by his side forever.

They both know.

A small, frustrated sigh slips past Reno's thin lips as he leans further into Rufus' palm, nuzzling the scarred tissue left from Geostigma. The gesture means more than any outsider could imagine.

With Rufus, they have a chance to rebuild Shinra. For the Turks, this horrible company which has destroyed so many lives, the planet's life, was the equivalent of their home, _their life. _Without Rufus, they had nothing.

"I didn't mean to cause any concern with my actions. You are, of course, meant to focus on the mission at hand at all times, with as few distractions as possible." Grey eyes find blue, and the two men separate – Rude is waiting at the Meteorfall monument, and Reno has a job to get on with.

_Thank you. For everything._

They both know.


End file.
